MagicMirror Forum
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Unsolved
    • Solved
    • MagicMirror² Repository
    • Documentation
    • 3rd-Party-Modules
    • Donate
    • Discord
    • Register
    • Login
    A New Chapter for MagicMirror: The Community Takes the Lead
    Read the statement by Michael Teeuw here.

    CALL FOR TESTERS: New install script

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion
    26 Posts 7 Posters 2.8k Views 6 Watching
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • D Offline
      drdeath
      last edited by

      Hey everyone,

      There’s a new install script in town.

      It’s designed to have as small a footprint in disk usage and system resources as possible and provide a fire-and-forget hands-off install from a fresh system to a running MM. It can easily install on an SD card as small as 8GB and works well on older and smaller Pi’s, so long as they can handle a current OS.

      It’s available for your perusal at https://github.com/tfischer4765/mm-install/ .

      The script is currently in beta, and I’d be very grateful if everyone who has the time tested it and tried their best to break it.

      Thanks for your help!

      pi@mmtest:~ $ mpstat
      Linux 6.6.31+rpt-rpi-v8 (mmtest)        02/09/24        _aarch64_       (4 CPU)
      
      22:02:38     CPU    %usr   %nice    %sys %iowait    %irq   %soft  %steal  %guest  %gnice   %idle
      22:02:38     all    0.09    0.00    0.07    0.04    0.00    0.01    0.00    0.00    0.00   99.80
      pi@mmtest:~ $ free -h
                     total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
      Mem:           907Mi       378Mi       175Mi        32Mi       437Mi       528Mi
      Swap:          199Mi       2.5Mi       197Mi
      pi@mmtest:~ $ df -h
      Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
      udev            318M     0  318M   0% /dev
      tmpfs            91M 1016K   90M   2% /run
      /dev/mmcblk0p2  6.9G  3.1G  3.4G  48% /
      tmpfs           454M   17M  438M   4% /dev/shm
      tmpfs           5.0M   12K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
      /dev/mmcblk0p1  510M   64M  447M  13% /boot/firmware
      tmpfs            91M     0   91M   0% /run/user/1000
      
      KristjanESPERANTOK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • KristjanESPERANTOK Offline
        KristjanESPERANTO Module Developer @drdeath
        last edited by

        @drdeath I’m a bit sceptical about trying it out as it contains a few hundred encoded lines and the comments don’t clearly describe what it does and why it’s encoded.

        BKeyportB D 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • BKeyportB Online
          BKeyport Module Developer @KristjanESPERANTO
          last edited by

          @KristjanESPERANTO Encoded lines? Oh hell no.

          Don’t care if it’s fully documented, if I’m not able to at least look at the code, then it’s a hell no for me.

          The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • D Offline
            drdeath @KristjanESPERANTO
            last edited by

            @KristjanESPERANTO What are you talking about, the listing of those config files is right there in the comments, and the purpose of that binary is quite obvious if you have a basic knowledge of Linux and Xorg. Also the file name the binary gets stored under is a dead giveaway. Don’t expect me to spoon-feed you obvious information.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote -1
            • D Offline
              drdeath
              last edited by

              @BKeyport @KristjanESPERANTO Turns out I owe you some thanks, if only because you got me thinking and questioning my assumptions.

              I had previously assumed the anchor process of an X server needed to be an X application, but that turned out to be not the case, so the whole blackpixel executable could be removed entirely, eliminating a major contributor to the script size and a maintenance headache for me.

              It does make the script even more obscure and alien though. That’s easily the strangest X config I’ve ever created.

              Code is updated.

              mumblebajM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • mumblebajM Offline
                mumblebaj Module Developer @drdeath
                last edited by

                @drdeath I think what the guys were saying or are trying to say, is that for the standard MM user, looking at the script and seeing “coded” code they may be hesitant to test the script. Although it can easily be decoded with echo 'base64 string' | base64 -d which would reveal the coded strings, the normal user does not know this.

                It does make the script so much smaller but for a newb looking at that would scare them away.

                Just my 2pence.

                Check out my modules at: https://github.com/mumblebaj?tab=repositories
                Check my blog-post: https://mumblebaj.xyz/

                S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • S Offline
                  sdetweil @mumblebaj
                  last edited by

                  @mumblebaj AND there is no practical need for encoding anything

                  Sam

                  How to add modules

                  learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

                  karsten13K 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • karsten13K Online
                    karsten13 @sdetweil
                    last edited by

                    @sdetweil said in CALL FOR TESTERS: New install script:

                    @mumblebaj AND there is no practical need for encoding anything

                    there was a need for the binary which was removed meanwhile, but not for the text files …

                    so e.g. this

                    base64 -d > /tmp/mm-install/xinitrc <<< 'IyEvYmluL3NoCgp4c2V0IHMgb2ZmICAgICAgICAgIyBkb24ndCBhY3RpdmF0ZSBzY3JlZW5zYXZl
                    cgp4c2V0IC1kcG1zICAgICAgICAgIyBkaXNhYmxlIERQTVMgKEVuZXJneSBTdGFyKSBmZWF0dXJl
                    cy4KeHNldCBzIG5vYmxhbmsgICAgICMgZG9uJ3QgYmxhbmsgdGhlIHZpZGVvIGRldmljZQoKaWYg
                    WyAtciAiL2V0Yy9tYWdpY21pcnJvci94cmFuZHJfb3B0cyIgXTsgdGhlbgogICAgICAgZWNobyAi
                    cnVubmluZyB4cmFuZHIgd2l0aCBhcmd1bWVudHMgXCIkKGNhdCAvZXRjL21hZ2ljbWlycm9yL3hy
                    YW5kcl9vcHRzKVwiIgogICAgICAgRElTUExBWT06MCB4cmFuZHIgJChjYXQgL2V0Yy9tYWdpY21p
                    cnJvci94cmFuZHJfb3B0cykKZWxzZQoJZWNobyAibm90IHJ1bm5pbmcgeHJhbmRyIgpmaQoKeHNl
                    dHJvb3QgLXNvbGlkIGJsYWNrCgppZiBbIC1yICIvZXRjL21hZ2ljbWlycm9yL3hfYmFja2dyb3Vu
                    ZF9pbWFnZSIgXSAmJiBbIC1yICIkKGNhdCAvZXRjL21hZ2ljbWlycm9yL3hfYmFja2dyb3VuZF9p
                    bWFnZSkiIF07IHRoZW4KCXhsaSAtb25yb290ICQoY2F0IC9ldGMvbWFnaWNtaXJyb3IveF9iYWNr
                    Z3JvdW5kX2ltYWdlKQpmaQoKd2hpbGUgOjsgZG8gc2xlZXAgMTAwMDA7IGRvbmUKCg=='
                    

                    could be replaced by

                    cat > /tmp/mm-install/xinitrc <<"EOF"
                    #!/bin/sh
                    
                    xset s off         # don't activate screensaver
                    xset -dpms         # disable DPMS (Energy Star) features.
                    xset s noblank     # don't blank the video device
                    
                    if [ -r "/etc/magicmirror/xrandr_opts" ]; then
                           echo "running xrandr with arguments \"$(cat /etc/magicmirror/xrandr_opts)\""
                           DISPLAY=:0 xrandr $(cat /etc/magicmirror/xrandr_opts)
                    else
                            echo "not running xrandr"
                    fi
                    
                    xsetroot -solid black
                    
                    if [ -r "/etc/magicmirror/x_background_image" ] && [ -r "$(cat /etc/magicmirror/x_background_image)" ]; then
                            xli -onroot $(cat /etc/magicmirror/x_background_image)
                    fi
                    
                    while :; do sleep 10000; done
                    
                    EOF
                    
                    D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • D Offline
                      drdeath @karsten13
                      last edited by

                      @karsten13 I tried here-docs initially, and it caused all kinds of problems, from missing newlines to empty files, although at least some of that probably was due to me writing the string to variables instead of directly to files and causing problems with the shell’s variable space.

                      Using base64 may not strictly necessary, but it’s robust and portable, and not in the least harmful. It’s also relatively easy to fact-check if you have a basic working knowledge of Linux. If you don’t, well then any software is a total black box to you and you just have to trust the person providing it. See the recent kerfuffle around obscured malicious code in ssh. I wouldn’t have been able to find it.

                      The way it works is, people who have the knowing fact-check and give the thumbs-up for those who don’t.

                      I’d also like to point out that

                      a) the contents of the files are listed as comments
                      b) if you were looking at a binary instead of a script, you’d be no wiser if you had it in binary rather than base64,
                      c) if I had made the pivot to makeself instead of encoding the files in b64, you’d see even less of the script before you executed it
                      d) most of the software you have on your system right now was provided in binary form, and
                      e) unless you are a closet uber-geek, you probably wouldn’t understand half of it if you had the source code, and
                      f) even if you are, a single human lifetime wouldn’t be nearly enough to fact-check the software on even a basic Linux install.

                      I feel you are blowing the fact that I’m using base64 to encode those files WAY out of proportion. As it is, it’s working as intended, and I’m not going running that gauntlet of trying to get here-docs to work again without better reason than people getting queasy over seeing base64 strings in a file.

                      If you want to modify it, you’re welcome to do so and provide a well-tested pull request. If on the other hand you wish to reject my work on a technicality like that, that’s a shame, but it hurts the community WAY more than it hurts me.

                      T D karsten13K 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • T Offline
                        tdw @drdeath
                        last edited by

                        @drdeath sure couldn’t tell from this chain. Feels like a solution in search of a problem.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • 1
                        • 2
                        • 3
                        • 1 / 3
                        • First post
                          Last post
                        Enjoying MagicMirror? Please consider a donation!
                        MagicMirror created by Michael Teeuw.
                        Forum managed by Sam, technical setup by Karsten.
                        This forum is using NodeBB as its core | Contributors
                        Contact | Privacy Policy